Leading UK student accommodation provider UPP Group Holdings has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer.

Elaine Hewitt joins from NHS Property Services where she has served as CEO since 2015. In her previous position she was responsible for managing and servicing a £3bn asset portfolio, some 4,000 properties, 5,000 employees and an annual income of more than £700m.

The Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has also held the position of Group Property Director at BT Group PLC where she managed the largest corporate portfolio in the UK, delivering services to 7,000 properties globally. She also has considerable private sector experience, and served in public sector roles like Crown Representative in the Cabinet Office for Property and Facilities Management across Government.


Elaine will join UPP Group on 01 April, succeeding current CEO Richard Bienfait, who will take up the role of Chief Financial Officer at Mace.

Commenting on the CEO shake-up, Robert McClatchey, Chairman of UPP Group Holdings Limited, said: "Elaine's appointment as Chief Executive Officer comes at an important moment for the Company and the wider student accommodation sector. In an increasingly competitive market where affordability and quality are high on the agenda, not just for students but also for regulators of higher education, her considerable experience and expertise in delivering facilities and property services will reinforce UPP's position as the leading on-campus accommodation provider. I look forward to working with Elaine to continue to drive UPP's long-standing and successful strategic focus on the delivery of controlled, value-accretive growth."

Elaine Hewitt added: "I am delighted to be joining UPP at such an interesting time in the evolution of the UK higher education sector which, like the NHS, forms a vital part of the national fabric and economy. I am looking forward to building on the achievements and successes of my predecessors, working with members of its talented team and delivering on UPP's strategic commitments to operational excellence, long-term partnerships and generating value for reinvestment in the future growth of the Business."

UPP has over 36,000 rooms in operation or under construction through long-term, bespoke partnerships with 15 world-leading universities.

(CM/JG)